


I Deserve This Curse

by Cratmang



Series: Oh Look, Another Raven House AU [1]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Owlbeast transformation, Raven House, or I guess technically it's Ravenbeast transformation, swap au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27950627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cratmang/pseuds/Cratmang
Summary: 22 years ago (give or take), Lilith tried to curse her sister just so that she could win a fight. But things go horribly wrong, and Lilith finds that she is the one suffering the curse.
Series: Oh Look, Another Raven House AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981126
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	I Deserve This Curse

**Author's Note:**

> I may be completely inaccurate on the length of time here. In my defence, the most concrete evidence that we have on Eda & Lilith's age in the show is that Eda has a "Thirty and Flirty" mug, which leads me to believe she is in her mid-to-late thirties. I am assuming that Eda and Lilith are a bit older than Luz (16 at most?) at the time they dueled for the spot in the Emperor's Coven, which would make a... hold on, let me check my math... 19-25 year gap between the duel and the start of the show.
> 
> Anyways, none of this time stuff really matters. Enjoy the fic.

Walking through the Night Market, Lilith found a stand with several bundles of scrolls available for purchase. Hung above the stand was a sign that read, “CURSES AND ENCHANTMENTS FOR SALE.” Beneath it hung another sign that read, “DO NOT QUESTION ORIGINS.”

Lilith approached the stand, and spoke to the squid-faced vendor running it. “I’m looking for a curse that will disable a witch’s magic.”

“Disable their magic?" The vendor stroked their beard of tentacles. “Hmm... I believe I have such a curse.” He pointed to one of the crates in front of him that was filled with bundled up scrolls. “It should be sealed with a Raven Emblem. Or was it an Owl? Some kind of bird.”

Lilith searched through the scrolls, and pulled out one that was indeed sealed with a Raven Emblem.

“That’s the one. Just remove the seal, and read the inscribed poem to whoever you wish to curse. Within twelve hours or less, the victim will find themselves unable to cast any sort of magic.”

“For how long?” Lilith asked. “A day?”

The vendor shrugged. “Maybe? I don’t know. I just sell ‘em.”

Lilith looked down at the scroll she held in her hand. She started to have second thoughts about her plan, but quickly dismissed them.

She handed the vendor a bag of snails. After counting the coins inside, they handed back an empty bag. Lilith told them to keep it, then turned and walked away with the scroll in her hands.

“Oh, I should warn you,” the vendor called out, “If you do not read the entire poem, there’s a chance that--”

A rickety cart rolled by, and its creaks drowned out the vendor’s voice.

By then, Lilith had already disappeared into the darkness of the night.`  
  


* * *

Eda lay nestled in her bed. The thick blankets rose and fell in response to the young witch’s breathing.

The door creaked open, and a beam of light shone on the blissfully sleeping witch.

Lilith walked into her sister’s bedroom, still draped in her oversized robe, clutching the scroll she had purchased just under an hour ago.

She crept to Eda’s bedside, careful not to wake her. Her hands shivered as she undid the seal on the scroll, then unraveled it.

_ This has to be done, _ she thought.  _ It’s the only way that I’ll be able to defeat her and join the Emperor’s Coven. _ She skimmed through the fine print on the page, and found the poem that would activate the curse.  _ The sooner we get this over with, the better _ .  _ I’m sorry Eda, but you’re too strong for me. _

She took a deep breath, then began softly reciting the poem. As she did, the scroll glowed with a fuzzy red light.

_ “Careless witch who stands in my way, _

_ Know that this is not your day, _

_ Soon you shall find magic a strain, _

_ For your power will have been drained, _

_ Consumed by the beast within, _

_ You shall succumb, you cannot wi--” _

Eda gave a loud snore.

Lilith yelped and leapt back in surprise. She held her breath, and stood absolutely still.

With her eyes closed, Eda reached her arm out toward nothing in particular, mumbled something about pumpkins growing in her breakfast, then rolled over. She was still fast asleep.

Lilith, now calm, released her breath, then looked back down at the scroll in her hands.

There was no scroll.

Where did it go? Had she successfully cast the curse, or did she accidentally throw the scroll behind her when Eda had snored?

Lilith eyed the darkness of her sister’s room. She didn’t search too thoroughly, because doing so would risk waking the young witch. She walked back into the hallway, and looked around.

The scroll was gone.

After pacing back and forth, Lilith came to the conclusion that the scroll had disintegrated upon her successfully casting the curse, and now there was nothing she could do but wait until tomorrow.

She went back to her own room, into her bed, and tried to sleep.

But something nagged at her. Something felt wrong, but she didn’t know what.

_ Is this... guilt...? _

She tried to ignore it, and buried herself in blankets.

* * *

Lilith was exhausted the next morning. She had hardly gotten any sleep.

She prayed to the Titan that the curse had worked. If it didn’t, then she stood no chance in her condition.

Lilith and Eda said nothing to each other at breakfast.

They said nothing to each other as they walked to Hexside.

They said nothing as they made their way to the opposite ends of the dueling grounds.

They said nothing as they each struck a pose, prepared to fight.

Lilith made the first move, drawing a spell circle.

It fizzled out, and nothing else happened.

_ What? _

She tried to draw another spell circle. Again, it fizzled out.

All the witches in the stands and on the field stared down at Lilith in expectation and confusion.

“What’s going on?” she said.

“Lil?” Eda called out from the other side of the field. “Are you okay?”

“I... I can’t...”

Lilith gasped as she suddenly realized, then whispered, “I can’t cast magic.”

Eda released her fighting stance, then walked over to Lilith. “Look, sis, I don’t want to fight you. And you’ve clearly been working hard to earn yourself a spot in the Emperor’s Coven.”

Lilith fell to her knees. Her wrong feeling was growing stronger and stronger by the minute, as if something was clawing out of her.

“In fact, it looks like you’ve been working a little too hard.” Eda gave a soft chuckle.

Lilith’s senses were starting to intensify and overwhelm her. She could only barely hear her sister speaking to her over the sound of her heartbeat. Her entire body trembled, and she began to feel intense pain.

“Lil? What’s wrong?”

She looked up at Eda with tears flowing down her face, and tried to say something, but the only words that came out were, “I... curse...”

“What curse? Come on, let me help you--”

Lilith shrieked in pain as her entire body transformed. A pair of feathery black wings sprouted from her back. Her hands and feet changed into sharp talons. Her body grew to over twice her size, and became covered in dark feathers. Her eyes turned black as the void, and her cries of pain became a monstrous screech.

Eda stepped back, and watched in horror as her sister turned into a large red-and-black feathered beast.

“Li-Lil?” she softly called. “Are you... still in there?”

For a moment, the beast quieted, and stared at Eda through the round glasses that barely fit on its face.

Then, someone in the stands yelled, “It’s a monster!”

“Kill it!” a guard shouted.

Someone tossed a fireball at the beast. It barely missed, but it did singe the feathers on her back. An audience member tossed a half-eaten apple, which bopped the beast on her head. More spells and trash quickly followed.

“No, wait!” Eda cried out.

The beast cowered. The light of the sun. The boos from the audience. The barrage of attacks from all around her. It was all too overwhelming for it. It turned and fled from the field, into the nearby forest.

“Lilith!” 

Eda reached out her hand in an attempt to call the beast back.

A masked witch from the Emperor’s Coven grabbed it, and then held it up high, saying, “Edalyn Clawthorne, we welcome you to the Emperor’s Coven!”

Everyone cheered.

Everyone, except Eda.

“Let go of me!”

She yanked her arm out of the witch’s grasp, then ran off to the forest, desperately following her newly-cursed sister.

* * *

Eda ran through the door, and made a mad dash for the kitchen. “Mom! Mom!” she cried, with tears in her eyes, “Lilith turned into a monster and--”

She stopped in her tracks.

Lilith and her mother were sitting at the table, both looking very depressed. Lilith was holding an empty potion bottle in front of her, staring down at it. Her glasses were missing.

Mrs. Clawthorne looked up as Eda ran in. “Welcome home, Eda. I already know what happened this morning. Rest assured, Lilith is safe, and back to normal. For now, at least.”

Eda approached the table, and took a seat next to Lilith.

The three witches sat in silence for a few moments.

“Are you okay, sis?” Eda asked.

No response. Lilith didn’t even look up to acknowledge her sister’s presence.

“You uh... dropped your glasses.” Eda reached into her pocket, and pulled out the cracked eyewear that she had found in the forest earlier, and placed it on the table.

Lilith eyed the glasses. With one arm, not moving from her seat, she reached over, took the glasses, and placed them back on her face.

“Aren’t ya’ gonna say thank you?” Eda asked.

A few seconds passed before Lilith quietly whispered,“Thank you.”

“Come on, why the long face?” Eda asked. “Whatever happened, it’s over now. All in the past! It’s not like you’re gonna transform into whatever-that-thing-was again, right?”

“I’m afraid that couldn’t be any further from the truth,” Mrs. Clawthorne explained. “Lilith has been inflicted with the Curse of the Ravenbeast. From now on, if she doesn’t drink the elixir to counteract it, she’ll transform into the monster you saw today.”

“What?” Eda said in disbelief. “But... why? Who would want to curse Lilith like this?”

“I don’t know. She hasn’t said a word since she recovered.”

Eda put a hand on Lilith’s shoulder, trying to comfort her. “Well... if all you gotta do is drink some elixir,” Eda said, “then it’s not so bad, right?”

No response.

“I mean, it’s like brushing your fangs every morning. It’s tedious, but you gotta do it if you wanna be healthy, right?”

No response.

Mrs. Clawthorne stood up. “I’m going to brew some more Elixir for Lilith,” she said. “You stay here and try to comfort her.”

Eda nodded, and Mrs. Clawthorne left the room to fetch some ingredients from the pantry.

“What happened, Lily?,” Eda asked, quietly. “How did you get cursed?”

Still no response.

“Come on,” Eda whispered, “you know you can tell me! I’ll keep it a secret if I have to!”

Still no response.

“Wait wait wait, let me guess. It was Odalia, wasn’t it? Nah, she’s a prick, but she doesn’t really seem like the ‘cursing’ type. Oh, oh! Was it that boy from the Abomination track? What was his name? Actually, no, it couldn’t have been him. He’s too goody-two-shoes. Wait, maybe I’ve got it all wrong. Are they even a student at Hexside? Alright, I give up. Come on, sis, tell me who I gotta wallop!”

Lilith raised her head just enough to meet Eda’s eyes, then softly said, “It’s my fault.”

“What do you mean, ‘it’s your fault’? How is it your fault that some stuck-up, insecure witch woke up on the wrong side of the bed and decided to curse you?”

But that was all that Lilith would say.

* * *

The next morning, Lilith was gone. She had taken a few days’ worth of food, some of the books she had been studying, as many elixirs as she could carry (as well as a written copy of the recipe), and a few snails from Eda’s hidden stash (In their place, Eda found an IOU note).

In her room, Lilith had left a note that read, “I deserve this curse. Please don’t come looking for me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please also check out other parts of [OLARHAU](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981126).  
> Updates will be less frequent than the speed at which molasses flows, so feel free to ask any and all questions about this AU, either in the comments, or on my [tumblr](https://cratmang.tumblr.com/). 
> 
> Dec 7th: I have a partially written draft for a second chapter that's set _much_ closer to the present, but it focuses more on Eda being in the Emperor's Coven (and also King's there), rather than Lilith being cursed. I am debating making it a separate work, and then maybe writing a more Lilith-centric chapter to tie up this work.
> 
> Jan 31st: After sitting on it for nearly two months, I have finally decided that if I do write a "chapter 2" to this story, it'll just be a separate work. "I Deserve This Curse" now has 1/1 chapters, which marks it as complete, so I'm not in a hurry to write more for it.


End file.
